After a day off, the Minnesota Wild and Chicago Blackhawks will face each other in a rematch.
The Wild escaped with a 4-3 overtime victory Tuesday night in Chicago. Both teams headed north after the game, and they will face off again Thursday night in Saint Paul, Minn., to finish their home-and-home series.
Wild forward Mats Zuccarello said he and his teammates are aiming for two more points. Their win over Chicago ended a three-game losing streak.
“It’s always nice to get a win,” Zuccarello said. “They haven’t been easy to come by as of late, even though we played good enough hockey to get it.
“(On Tuesday), I think we played a really good first period. (It was) solid. Second period, so-so. Then in the third, I think we stopped making plays and played a little too easy. …
“But it’s an important two points and (we) get back in the winning column. Hopefully get some momentum and some confidence from this.”
Chicago (25-30-12, 62 points) will try to take another step forward after earning at least one point in four of its past five games. The Blackhawks are 2-1-2 during that span.
Blackhawks forward Frank Nazar said the overtime loss against the Wild showed that the teams are not so far apart. Chicago has already surpassed its point total from all of last season with 15 games to go.
“We were talking about it and thinking about it after (Tuesday’s game),” Nazar said. “(We talked about) how high up in the rankings that team is, and how well we played the second half of the game. We can be right up there, too. It’s just a matter of how we play the whole game.”
Vladimir Tarasenko will look to stay hot for the Wild (39-18-12, 90 points). The veteran forward has three goals in his past two games.
“His shot is just unbelievable,” teammate Marcus Johansson said. “He’s got a special release and when he uses that shot and (with) the confidence he’s got now, it’s just fun to see.”
Minnesota could start either Filip Gustavsson or Jesper Wallstedt in net.
Gustavsson is 25-11-6 with a 2.52 goals-against average and a .911 save percentage on the season, and he is 7-0-1 with a 2.11 GAA and a .923 save percentage in eight career games against the Blackhawks. Wallstedt is 14-7-6 with a 2.78 GAA and a .912 save percentage this season, and he is 2-0-0 with a 1.41 GAA and a .948 save percentage in three appearances against Chicago.
The Blackhawks could counter with Spencer Knight or Arvid Soderblom between the pipes.
Knight made 33 saves on 37 shots against the Wild two nights ago. He is 17-9-9 with a 2.67 GAA and a .907 save percentage this season, and he is 0-0-3 with a 3.15 GAA and an .878 save percentage in four career games against Minnesota.
Soderblom is 6-10-3 with a 3.70 GAA and a .876 save percentage this season while serving as backup. In two career games against the Wild, he is 0-2-0 with a 3.55 GAA and an .889 save percentage.
–Field Level Media
